EWU Men’s Tennis Opens 2013 Season at Home; Women Play in Pullman

Ranked third in the Big Sky preseason poll, men’s
tennis team makes anticipated debut at home against two familiar
rivals

Temperatures may barely be reaching 30 degrees in the Pacific
Northwest, but tennis season at Eastern is officially underway.

Both the Eastern Washington University men’s and
women’s tennis teams will be in action this weekend in their
first competitions of 2013.

The men open at home with a doubleheader on Sunday (Jan. 20) at
the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse in Cheney, Wash. The Eagles take on Idaho
at 10:30 a.m., followed by a match against Whitworth at 5 p.m.

The women’s team travels to Pullman, Wash., where it will
face nationally-ranked Wyoming on Saturday (Jan. 19) at 6 p.m.

EWU Men’s Tennis Season Preview

Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Darren Haworth, the
EWU men’s tennis team enters 2013 with high expectations -
made even higher with the release of the Big Sky preseason
coaches’ poll.

Despite having just one returning letterwinner from last
year’s squad, EWU was picked to finish third in the
newly-expanded Big Sky Conference, which now features 11 teams. The
Big Sky Conference tournament, held this year in Sacramento,
Calif., will now include the top six teams from the regular season,
as opposed to four as in had in the previous three seasons.

In the vote of the league’s head coaches, the Eagles came
in just behind overwhelming-favorite Sacramento State, who garnered
99 total points and nine of 10 first-place votes. Montana, the
reigning regular-season champion, was picked second with 91 points
and two first-place votes, while Eastern collected 74 tallies.
Weber State, Idaho State and Northern Arizona rounded out the top
six.

“In my experiences, preseason rankings don’t mean a
whole lot,” said Haworth. “Except maybe for Sac State.
They are good. They’ve won the conference tournament several
years in a row now, and they’re as good if not better this
year than they have been in the past. I would assume everyone in
the conference will be shooting for them. But I think it’s
going to be a dog fight for second place, and really the top
six.”

With 10 of 11 members being freshmen and sophomores, most of
Eastern's 2013 roster has never played in a Big Sky match, but
according to Haworth, the potential of this team outweighs any
doubts surrounding its inexperience.

“I am really happy with what I’ve seen from our team
so far,” added Haworth. “I really like the way our guys
compete. They are tough, and I think capable of beating anyone in
the conference on any given day. We are young and a little
inexperienced, but I think we have as good a chance as we’ve
had any other year to crack into the top four.”

Before Eastern actually dives into Big Sky Conference play in
late February, the Eagles have a busy slate of non-conference
matches. EWU opens the 2103 campaign against two regional rivals in
Idaho and Whitworth - both teams EWU has on its schedule almost
every year.

“Obviously, we’d like to come out of this weekend
2-0,” said Haworth. “Idaho is very good this year, so
that should be a really tough match. Whitworth will be another good
test, and will also give some of the guys lower in the lineup a
chance to play. In these early matches, we just want to see how
everyone competes. I am pretty confident with our lineup right now,
but this weekend will be a really good gauge of where we are and
whether we need to make some changes. We will really take a look at
our doubles teams and where we stand there.”

EWU has played both Idaho and Whitworth in each of the past
three seasons. Eastern has not dropped a single game to Whitworth
in that time, winning all three matches by a score of 7-0. But the
Eagles have not been as successful against their rival from the
Palouse. Idaho has managed to upend EWU the last three seasons. The
Eagles lost 6-1 in the most recent meeting in 2012, fell 5-2 in
2011 and 4-2 in 2010. The last win for Eastern over the Vandals was
April 19, 2009 - a 4-3 victory in Moscow.

Expecting to lead the Eagles this season are returning redshirt
Joseph Cohen, sophomore transfer Eduardo Martinez and true freshman
Tomas Aranguiz - all of whom gained valuable experience playing in
several competitive tournaments for EWU this past fall.

“Joseph, Eduardo and Tomas have really established
themselves as our top three right now,” said Haworth.
“And they each bring their own unique styles and qualities to
our team. Joseph is a natural leader. He is extremely talented, and
has the potential to beat anybody he plays this season. Eduardo is
a very hard worker. He has a great personality and has the ability
to really get the team fired up. Tomas is a great competitor on the
court. He pulled out a couple big three-set wins this fall. He is
just tough, and that is something we need on this team.”

The Eagles will also welcome back the only veteran member of the
team, senior Kyle Koetje. Koetje compiled a 10-8 singles record in
2011-12 playing primarily at No. 6. He earned an impressive 6-2
record in conference play, losing only Montana and Sac State, whose
teams finished 1-2 in the league.

Freshman Arturo Carpio, who just recently joined the squad
during the winter, is also expected to compete for a spot in the
top six.

“I think Arturo can make an immediate impact in both
doubles and singles,” said Haworth. “I really like what
he brings to the team. He has a big game, and is going to be a
great addition.”

EWU Women’s Tennis Season Preview

Unlike the men, the women’s team enters the season with a
great deal of experience. Eastern’s 2013 roster features six
returning letterwinners, two returning redshirts, two returning
squad members, as well as two newcomers. But there is a new face at
the helm of this program.

Eastern will be coached this year by Dustin Hinson, who joined
the staff as interim associate head women’s coach in
December. After a successful junior career as one of the top-ranked
players in the Pacific Northwest, Hinson played four years of
collegiate tennis at Idaho. He is a native of Moscow, Idaho, but
now lives in Cheney with his family.

Eastern is coming off a tough season that saw the team win just
four of its 19 matches in 2011-12. But with so many veterans back,
including All-Big Sky second-team selection Moira Hedberg, the
Eagles are expecting more W’s in 2013.

Specifically, EWU is aiming for enough wins to finish in the top
six in the Big Sky for a bid to the postseason tournament, held
this year in Sacramento, Calif. Eastern has missed the cut the last
three years.

The Eagles are not the only ones that find this to be feasible
goal. In the 2013 Big Sky preseason coaches’ poll, released
Tuesday (Jan. 15), EWU was picked sixth with 44 total points.

“We have a good schedule lined up for the spring,
including matches against four nationally-ranked opponents, which
will be great in preparing us for conference play,” said
Hinson. “We were selected sixth in the preseason poll this
year, which was the goal our team set this year - to finish
in the top six so we can make it to the tournament and place well
there. The team is working very hard in practice so far, both on
the court and off the court with their conditioning.”

To help in achieving these goals, Hinson has had a specific
focus for the team this year, which he calls PIE.

“This season, I have asked the team to work on three
mental attributes: positivity, intensity and encouragement,”
explained Hinson. “This little acronym [PIE] has really
helped the team stay focused on the court by staying positive,
keeping their intensity level high and encouraging one another.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well we’ve done
with it. They are working together and getting better every
day.”

EWU will enjoy a full roster this season of 12 players. The
Eagles will be led by a quartet of seniors in Chelsea Patton,
Kelsey Knight, Ryann Warner and Rocio Norena. But EWU also has a
talented trio of sophomores, who are all looking to continue the
success earned in their freshman campaigns.

Sophomore Moira Hedberg was selected to the All-Big Sky second
team in 2011-12, after earning a 4-4 league record while playing at
No. 1 singles. She played 18 of 19 matches in the top spot, and was
selected as a Big Sky Player of the Week during the year.

Fellow sophomore Chrissy Uriarte, who played primarily at No. 3
singles, also earned a 4-4 record in conference place. With an 8-11
overall singles record, she recorded the second-most wins of anyone
on the team behind Hedberg (9-10). Uriarte won her final two
matches of the year with two road victories agaisnt Montana and
Montana State.

Sophomore Helon Ricks will return to the court for EWU after a
redshirt season in 2011-12. Although she hasn’t competed in
almost a year, Ricks is ready to pick up right where she left off
in her rookie season. In 2010-11, she posted the best overall
singles record on the squad. Ricks was the only player to eclipse
double-digit wins, as finished the year at 10-11, which included an
impressive 5-3 mark in Big Sky Conference play. She won 10 of her
first 14 matches in the 2011, all of which were in straight
sets.

“We have four seniors on the team this year who are doing
a great job of leading by example,” said Hinson.
“I’ve been especially impressed with the leadership of
Chelsea Patton, who always works hard to keep the girls motivated.
And the on-court play of sophomores Moira, Chrissy and Helon has
been very impressive so far. I know these girls want to win, and we
are anxious to get the season started.”

EWU will certainly be put to the test in its first competition
of 2013, as it takes on No. 61 Wyoming. Eastern will play the
Cowgirls in Pullman, Wash., on Saturday at 6 p.m. Wyoming’s
doubles team of Veronica Popvici and Simona Synkova enters the
season ranked 52nd nationally, while both players are ranked in top
five in singles for the Mountain Region.

“We take on Wyoming this weekend, and while they are
ranked 61st in the nation, there is not one girl on the team who
thinks we can’t beat them,” said Hinson. “We are
ready to leave it all on the court Saturday.”